(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a driving method thereof, and more particularly, to a display device and a driving method thereof capable of reducing power consumption while maintaining a uniform charging time.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Due to recent demands for a reduction in weight and thickness of personal computers and televisions, for example, a reduction in weight and thickness of a display device is required. Thus, cathode ray tubes (“CRTs”) are now being replaced with flat panel display devices.
Examples of the flat panel display devices include a liquid crystal display (“LCD”) device, a field emission display (“FED”) device, an organic light emitting device (“OLED”) and a plasma display device (“PDP”). In general, active flat panel display devices include a plurality of pixels arranged in a matrix, and driving circuits such as a signal controller or a data driver for controlling an operation of the plurality of pixels based on control signals. The flat panel display devices process image information in accordance with the control signals in order to control a luminance of each pixel for displaying images.
The image information is output as digital image signals from the signal controller, and the digital image signals are converted to analog data voltages in a digital-to-analog converter of the data driver which are applied to the plurality of pixels through data lines.
When the number of digital-to-analog converters is the same as the number of the data lines, a size of the driving circuits, such as the data driver, increases, which thereby increases power consumption. In addition, the number of pads and an amount of wiring disposed between the driving circuits and the panel assembly increases, which thereby causes signal deterioration, etc.
However, when the number of digital-to-analog converters is less than the number of data lines, a charging time of the data voltage is different for each pixel.